


Work It Out

by rebelwriter6561



Series: Getting Better [2]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Feels, Friendship, Hanging Out, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Trust Issues, growing closer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 10:59:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8203244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelwriter6561/pseuds/rebelwriter6561
Summary: Warren comes to Kurt again for help, and some company





	

**Author's Note:**

> no I'm not writing this because I'm writers blocked on another fic.

This time it wasn't a surprise. Kurt hadn't expected to meet Warren in the hallway again, but he wasn't exactly shocked to see him.

Things weren’t...better, certainly not. Warren was still a scarred angry mess who kept to his room and swore at everyone who came by. His wings were still bare, and he had recently ripped the bandages from his body, leaving his half-healed scars and marks exposed. He seemed unbothered by his injuries, but Kurt knew they had to hurt.

But now he was talking to Kurt, even if he only did so rarely, and only in private. He wore his leather jacket like armor, and the barest hint of gold fuzz had begun growing back on his head. Both seemed to put him in a marginally better mood. It was a start.

Kurt stepped up to his friend, a smile on his face. “Good morning, Warren,” he greeted him, happy to be able to call him his real name. Apparently even the Professor hadn't known it. It was like a treasure Kurt kept close to his heart.

Warren glanced at his face and away, back to staring down the hall. “What are you doing right now? Do you have class?” The words were short and harsh, but Kurt had come to know that it was just the way he always spoke.

Kurt tilted his head, wondering what Warren was planning. “I have math, my algebra class.” He didn't know why he had to take the class, because most of the information was useless and confusing. But apparently it was expected of him.

Warren smiled, quick and sharp. “Wanna play hooky? I want you to come check something out with me.”

“Do you need to go to Germany again?” Kurt wondered, stepping closer out of the path of a student running for class. The halls were almost empty except for them. Perhaps that was why Warren had chosen to approach him again.

“It's not Germany. Hell no.” Warren shook his head, keeping his idea a mystery. “It'll be fun, trust me.”

The late bell rang, and Kurt found he couldn't say no. Not if there was a chance Warren would smile the way that Kurt honestly adored. “So where are we going?”

To his joy, Warren's face brightened into a grin again. He looked so different with a smile on his face, so much like an angel. “I'll show you,” he said, and began leading Kurt down the hall.

They ducked down dorm hallways and through a courtyard until they reached the gymnasium, of all places. Kurt watched as Warren rattled the door handles in vain. He turned to Kurt and raised an eyebrow. He didn't even have to ask. Kurt teleported into the pitch-black building easily, opening the door to let Warren and a stream of sunlight come in. 

“God it's dark in here.” Warren grumbled as he began slapping his hand blindly against the wall. “Where are the lights in here?”

“They're over here,” Kurt said as he jumped to the opposite wall and started flipping switches. Warren squinted at him as the bright florescent lights turned on one by one.

“Can you see in the dark or something?”

“Oh, _ja_ , I mean, yes.” Kurt felt suddenly embarrassed, rubbing his toe over the slick floor. His mutations were helpful, it had to be said, but they were still so odd, so strange. Bad enough that he was unavoidably blue, and moved from place to place with a startling puff of smoke. Most people were uncomfortable with the idea that in the dark, while they were helpless and blind, Kurt could see as well as day. So he never brought it up if he could help it.

“Man, the day they were passing out mutations you must have got in line twice.” Warren shrugged off his jacket, letting it crumple to the floor. Stretching, he walked over to a pommel horse tucked against the wall. Kurt joined him to tug it away from the wall.

“What, ah-” Kurt paused to watch as Warren jumped up to sit facing Kurt, his wings hanging behind him. “What are you going to do?”

“Well, Kurt, I can't exactly do sit ups on the ground.” Warren flicked an empty wing to illustrate his point his point. He pushed himself back, moving his backside off the leather seat, holding the handles to keep himself from falling backwards. “Sit on my legs, you're my counterbalance.”

Flushing, Kurt slowly climbed up as well. He gingerly sat on the bony top of Warren's calves, feeling incredibly awkward. He almost wished Warren had asked him to go to Germany again.

Warren let himself fall back so he was hanging upside down, his legs shifting under Kurt. And then Kurt watched in amazement as Warren sat back up, chest muscles bunching, arms behind his head, without even seeming to struggle. He arched back down, and back up again. Kurt knew from his circus days how hard that actually was, and he was impressed.

“How did you get to be so strong?” Kurt asked when Warren paused after ten sets. His friend was breathing hard, but not labored, and the flush on his cheeks gave him some life usually absent from his face.

“My wings,” Warren answered. He gestured at his chest. “All this muscle is to get me in the air. I have to keep working them even if I can't fly. If I just sit on my ass until I'm better then I won't be able to leave when the feathers grow back.” He lent back again to begin the next round of sit-ups.

Kurt's stomach dropped. He had forgotten how much Warren hated being trapped at the mansion. “Do you miss flying?” he asked to distract himself.

Warren harshly laughed. “It feels like I'm literally stuck on the ground. I pretty much lost a limb. Of course I miss it. This sucks.” He finished that rep and rested again. He was breathing heavily this time, sweat lingering on his forehead and sticking his shirt to his chest. Kurt had to look away, and hoped with all his might that Warren couldn't tell that his purple face meant he was blushing.

“You're not going to hurt yourself, are you? I mean, if you're not fully healed…” Warren shook his head, causing Kurt's words to die in his throat.

“I'm fine.” He started again, but Kurt could see it was a struggle now, that he was getting tired. “You don't need to worry about me.”

“But I do!” Kurt blurted out, leaning forward to plant his hands on Warren's knees. As the other boy struggled to sit up again, his legs threatened to release their hold and let him fall.

Warren didn't say anything else until he finished and sat up for the last time, gasping a bit. Kurt wondered if he should get off Warren's legs. They were very close like this - Kurt was practically in his lap as it was, and he could feel the heat radiating from Warren's chest.

“That's your thing, isn't it?” Warren said quietly, almost to himself. “You care, even when no one else does, don't you?” He glanced at Kurt with tired eyes, studying him like he was expecting a trick question or something.

His words made Kurt's chest tighten, and he averted his eyes. “I'm not the only one - other people care about you too.”

Warren snorted. “No they don't. All the kids hate me, the Professor and Hank can't wait to see me gone. I'm honestly surprised Mystique hasn't knifed me yet.” He shook his head ruefully. “No, I think you're the only one here who gives a shit about me. And that's really fucking sad to think about, so get off me.” He jerked his legs under Kurt's backside, jostling him aside.

Kurt leapt gracefully to the floor, turning back to face Warren when he landed with a thud. Warren led him over to a pair of uneven bars, the highest a bit above his head.

“I’ll need to figure out the gym schedule, so we can get in here when there aren't classes.” Warren grabbed the top bar and pulled himself up neatly, repeating his chin-ups as easily as he did the sit-ups.

Kurt watched him, idly wondering about what Warren had said. He wanted Kurt to be here with him, rather than working out alone. Even if Kurt hadn't agreed to help him in the future, he just assumed Kurt would help. Kurt would be a bit put off if Warren wasn't completely right.

He did care. Maybe too much over someone who was so determined to leave, but he couldn't help it. Now that he knew how very alone Warren already was, he couldn't leave him.

Kurt stepped up to the bar as well, next to Warren, but not close enough to touch. He had to hop up a little to grab hold. Swinging his legs, he swung back and forth to propel himself up and over the bar. Twisting his hands gripping the bar, he completed his arch and swung back up again. This time, he brought his feet down, so he was crouching on top of the bar. His odd clawed feet gripped it like that was their sole purpose.

Looking down, he saw Warren was hanging there, staring at Kurt with his mouth open. “Holy shit,” he swore softly. “Were you actually in the fucking circus?”

“Of course,” Kurt answered, his tail flicking in confusion. He thought Warren knew that.

“I thought it was just some bullshit backstory the announcers made up.” Warren let himself drop back to the ground, wings slumping behind him, totally distracted by Kurt. “Were you a trapeze artist or something?”

“Yes. Well, no. Not really.” Ashamed, Kurt jumped down, flipping in the air to land on his toes painfully.

“What? Why not? That was incredible - if you used your teleporting too that would be beyond awesome. You have any idea how much people would pay to see that?” Warren actually seemed excited at the prospect. Kurt, however, felt his insides sour at the reminder.

“Warren, look at me.” He cut his friend off. “They never wanted me in the ring, not in front of the audience - I'm ‘too frightening’.” Kurt spat the words out, remembering the ringmaster’s words bitterly, even though he knew they were correct. “I could train, but I was never allowed to perform. I always wanted too, but…” Kurt trailed off, shrugging. “It just wasn't allowed.” Just one more thing he could not do.

Warren seemed stunned by Kurt's outburst. “Fucking Germans.” he finally muttered, “That's bullshit, they could have made a mint off you, worked it into the show somehow. What a waste of talent.” He was frowning again, but it was for Kurt's sake now, not just anger at the world.

Kurt snorted at the idea of waste. “They made plenty on me. I was in the freak show, of course.” He was quietly delighted when Warren's face twisted in disgust. Jean, Scott, and his other friends had reacted the same way.

“That's sick,” Warren spat. Kurt wondered if he was thinking of the way the students now looked at him in fear, rather than wonder at his former beauty. Now he knew how Kurt felt. Rather than be pleased at this, Kurt just felt bad.

“What if-” Warren broke off with a sudden chuckle “what if we both ran off and started our own circus? You on the trapeze, and me flying around and catching you. An actual flying circus.” He smirked, like there was a joke that Kurt was missing.

“A mutant circus, but actually for mutants?” Kurt entertained the idea with a grin, picturing it clearly. He knew there were other mutants in freak shows and circuses, there always had been, but never organizing the whole show. It would be great fun to actually perform. “I bet we could recruit other mutants.”

“It could be the best show ever.” Warren was smiling more happily than Kurt had ever seen, completely enraptured by the idea, but the grin suddenly fell off his face, and he looked at Kurt with serious eyes. “Think you could trust me to catch you mid-air?”

Kurt knew what he meant, what he was actually asking. “Of course.” He gave Warren his softest grin. Warren needed to know that Kurt trusted him. That he was forgiven, and their fights were long in the past. Kurt knew he needed forgiveness.

Warren's returned smile was heartbreakingly pleased and shy. Of course he tried to brush it away. “Don't think it'd be too hard. You're so skinny I'd be able to pick you up no problem.” His grin turned mischievous, and he charged at Kurt before he could react.

Warren ducked and wrapped an arm around Kurt's knees, while his other hand grabbed his shoulder. Kurt instinctively jumped, and wrapped his arms around Warren's neck as the other boy picked him up easily.

Warren laughed as he swung Kurt around, wings whipping through the air behind them. His initial shock fading, Kurt laughed too, realizing Warren had been correct. The other boy could easily carry him. Stomach soaring, Kurt pictured them flying, just like this, high in the air but safe in Warren's arms.

Warren suddenly gasped in Kurt's ear and stumbled to a stop. Kurt jumped down, instantly realizing something was wrong. “Wha-” he started to ask, but stopped when he saw Warren hunched over, hand pressed to his side.

“I think I pulled a stitch,” Warren gritted out through clenched teeth. He glanced up at Kurt, dangerous smile back on his face. “Worth it though. You weigh like five pounds, tops.” 

Kurt shook his head, too worried to enjoy the joke. “You need to go back to the med room, to get looked at.” He felt awful, truly terrible. Warren was hurt and it was because of him.

Warren straightened, shaking his head. “I don't need-” he was cut off by the sound of the outside doors opening.

Hank held the door open as the Professor rolled in, a tight smile appearing on his face at the sight of them. “Kurt, Angel. I hope we weren't interrupting anything.”

“We weren't-” Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt could see Warren's shoulders tighten, his usual angry scowl crawl back on his face. Just when Kurt managed to make him happy again. “I just wanted to show Warren some of my circus tricks, we weren't fighting or anything.” Shameful guilt filled him when the Professor turned his gaze to him. It felt like he could read the marks on his skin, see all his sins.

“That's very kind of you, Kurt, but you do have class now.” Professor X’s voice was kind, but stern. “And Angel, I think you should accompany Hank back to the infirmary. We need to discuss the terms of your recovery.”

In stony silence, Warren stalked over to the wall where he left his jacket. Feeling ashamed and helpless, Kurt unhappily followed in his wake. It felt like all the effort he had made to make Warren happy had gone to waste. And after the closeness they'd shared, he now felt alone and cold. 

But as bad as he felt, he could only imagine how much worse Warren was feeling. He looked angry as usual, but Kurt could see he was unhappy that they'd been interrupted when he actually seemed to be having fun.

He followed his friend out into the hallway, where Warren pulled his jacket on and prepared to follow Hank to the lower levels. Warren's hand brushed Kurt's shoulder in passing, and when he glanced at Kurt, it didn't feel like an accident.

“I hope your side is okay,” Kurt said quietly, and Warren turned to fully face him with the smallest of smiles peeking through his scowl.

“Yeah, me too. I'll see you later.” Kurt's heart soared as Warren walked away, shoulders slumped and wings angrily arched. They were still good.

Professor X cleared his throat behind him. “Kurt, I know I don't have to remind you that Angel's situation here is less than ideal.”

“He won't hurt me, Professor, if that's what you're worried about.” Kurt couldn't even think of it now.

“That's not what I'm referring to, Kurt.” The Professor sighed. “Angel has made it very obvious that he resents being at this school, and will be leaving at the earliest opportunity. And it would be unconscionable of me to force him to stay longer than he wishes.”

Kurt swallowed heavily. “I understand, Professor.” He understood so very well. “I just want to be his friend, and make him happy.” Surely the Professor could see that.

“I know, Kurt.” He sighed, and Kurt wondered what was making his eyes so sad. “I only hope that his departure is not too painful for you.”

Kurt wrapped his arms around himself, a cold feeling spiking at his heart. “I should get to class, sir.” He whispered at his toes. On the edge of his vision he saw the Professor nod, and he vanished in a blur of smoke as Kurt transported himself away.

He arrived outside his classroom, but didn't enter. Kurt breathed deeply, trying to will away the tightness in his throat and wetness in his eyes. The space in his heart still ached by the time he entered his class with a smile he didn't feel. He was already mourning the loss of Warren in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't you hate when a perfect moment is ruined by stitches tearing and a mind-reading wet blanket? The worst.


End file.
